SCORES: Individual scores: 3, 2, 2, 3, 4, 2, 2, 2 Average score: 2.5 4.3 The media cover the full spectrum of events, issues and cultures, including business/economics, cultural, local and investigative stories. ANALYSIS: Media coverage tends to be predominantly political, elitist, and personality-centered. Issuebased stories rarely get lead-story treatment. This is especially true of the front pages and news bulletins of the mainstream media. Grassroots activities, women and elders get hardly any coverage. The community media’s performance is better in this respect. They go out of their way to cover business, economic, cultural and other issues of relevance to their respective local communities. Restrictive media laws, harsh economic realities and the political climate have combined forces to create an environment that effectively inhibits investigative reporting and keeps it off the agenda of the media in Zambia. SCORES: Individual scores: 2, 4, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2 Average score: 2.5 4.4 Journalists and editors do not practice self-censorship. ANALYSIS: Self-censorship remains an unwritten rule even if it is not expressly stated in the media’s editorial policies. Journalists and editors deny it, but self-censorship is reflected in the tone and text of stories, especially sensitive ones. Structural and ownership realities dictate the operating parameters. Both journalists and editors are aware of what is expected of them, wary of the consequences of deviation and exercise “due care”, a euphemism for self-censorship. SCORES: Individual scores: 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 Average score: 1.4 4.5 Owners do not interfere with editorial independence. ANALYSIS: Ownership structures determine the nature and degree of interference with the editorial independence of different media. It is not possible for the various media to promote views contrary to those of their owners. Both the government and private owners meddle in the editorial decisions and coverage preferences of their respective media. The ownership and administrative structure at the Post newspaper where the majority shareholder is also the Managing So This Is Democracy? 2005 -278- Media Institute of Southern Africa